Koe Wetzel rocks the sold out Ascend Amphitheater show

Koe Wetzel took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd at the Ascend Amphitheater last night (October 6) for an explosive 75-minute rockstar set as part of his Damn Near Normal Tour.

Ben Burgess started the evening with a set full of songs from his new album Hollywood cowboyis due out this Friday (October 11) as an independent release. The album preview got the audience “dancing to some country music” and included “Well Worth The Ride,” “Well Whiskey,” “Bull Rider” and “The Willie.” Burgess also used his impressive vocals to cover Johnny Paycheck’s “Slide Off Your Satin Sheets” before wrapping up his time with the album’s title track.

Next up was that evening Tanner Usreywho burst onto the stage with “Blackberry Wine,” which can be heard on the Twister Soundtrack. He kept the momentum going, diving into fan favorites “Take Me Home,” “Come Back Down,” “With You” and “Give It Some Time.” Then Usrey brought out his friend Kenzie to help him perform “Beautiful Lies,” a duet with Ella Langley Border crossings Album where cell phone lights illuminated the venue.

“Enough of the sad stuff, let’s get crackin’,” shouted Usrey as he dived back into his set with a cover of Killer Faces’ “Stay With Me,” before moving on to thrilling renditions of “Destiny” and “Keep” by the Georgia Satellites concluded “Your Hands to Yourself” and “Guns, Drugs and Allergy Pills.”

Koe Wetzel. Photo: Motion Theory Media

Once the lights went down and the crowd was on its feet, it was time for the main event. Before Wetzel took the stage, he played a clip of Vanderbilt University’s goal celebration after its win over Alabama over the weekend, which got the crowd even more excited. With a baseball cap and guitar, Wetzel rocked onto the stage with “Twister” and immediately set the mood for the evening. After labeling the evening “Sunday Funday,” Wetzel turned things up a notch with “Fuss & Fight,” unleashing smoke and fire from his stage production before segueing into “April Showers.”

“I didn’t know how this record was going to turn out, as honest as it was,” Wetzel said of his 9 lives Album that was released last July. “With the help of Gabe Simon, Amy Allen, Carrie KarpinenBen Burgess, Steve Rush…and all the Nashville legends out here and a little bit of LA, we still did it. It all just made sense.” When the audience agreed to hear the new album live, he played the title track before switching it back to “Forever.”

Wetzel kept the nostalgia going with “Love,” slowing the set down with the spotlight shining on him. The crowd reveled as the singer hit all the right notes on the song he co-wrote with Parker McCollum, cheering on his fellow Texan at the end. Then it was time to get the party started again with fan favorites “Good Die Young,” “Kuntry & Western,” and “Ragweed.”

Koe Wetzel. Photo: Motion Theory Media

Already proving his status as a top-notch entertainer with more shows still ahead of him, Wetzel led the crowd in a group of cheers before launching into “Casamigos.” The audience danced loudly to “Sweet Dreams” and Wetzel continued to wow the amphitheater with “Drunk Driving,” “28. February 2016” and the tour’s namesake “Damn Near Normal”.

The night was coming to an end and everyone was in a rockstar mood, but the party didn’t let up. From the opening chords of the next track, fans were immediately hooked on “Creeps.”

“We wrote this song in the RCA studios right next door,” Wetzel said. “We all wanted a girl’s perspective on the song, so we asked Jessie Murph to join in and she absolutely nailed it. ‘Jessie, wherever you are, we love you.'” Amid screams and excitement, Wetzel delivered a breathtaking performance the RIAA platinum-certified single “High Road.” To end the night, Bailey Zimmerman ran onto the stage to serve the band some tequila before Wetzel closed with “Something To Talk About.”

Wetzel’s Damn Near Normal Tour continues this weekend in his home state of Texas with shows in Abilene and Lubbock before wrapping up the weekend with a sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Madison Hahnen is a project manager at MusicRow magazine, where she helps implement operational goals and major projects for the company. Hahnen graduated from Bryant University in May 2020 with a BS in Team and Project Management and a minor in Communications.

Latest posts from Madison Hahnen (view all)